The Politics of Wine in Early Modern France

Explores how workers in the local wine industry helped shape local politics and turn back Protestantism in early modern Burgundy.

Focusing on the local wine industry, Mack Holt examines the relationship between the ruling and popular classes and demonstrates how ordinary Burgundians were crucial in turning back the tide of Protestantism in the sixteenth century, until the absolutist policies of Louis XIII curtailed their influence on local politics.In the late fifteenth century, Burgundy was incorporated in the kingdom of France. This, coupled with the advent of Protestantism in the early sixteenth century, opened up new avenues for participation in public life by ordinary Burgundians and led to considerably greater interaction between the elites and the ordinary people. Mack Holt examines the relationship between the ruling and popular classes from Burgundy's re-incorporation into France in 1477 until the Lanturelu riot in Dijon in 1630, focusing on the local wine industry. Indeed, the vineyard workers were crucial in turning back the tide of Protestantism in the province until 1630 when, following royal attempts to reduce the level of popular participation in public affairs, Louis XIII tried to remove them from the city altogether. More than just a local study, this book shows how the popular classes often worked together with local elites to shape policies that affected them.